Western Economic Partnership Agreements

What are WEPAs?

Western Economic Partnership Agreements (WEPAs) are multi-year federal-provincial funding commitments to strengthen economic activity and improve quality of life in western Canadian communities. Through the agreements, Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) and each western province provide a matching contribution, enabling significant investments to fund projects that support federal and provincial priorities.

The new series of agreements, will provide $25 million in funding for each of the western provinces, matched by the provincial governments, for a total investment of $200 million to stimulate opportunities for western Canadians.

What’s the WD connection?

WD's mandate is to promote economic development and diversification in Western Canada. Projects funded under the WEPAs have benefited Western Canadians by helping to create a better environment for growth, business development and innovation.

Funding is directed to initiatives that support WD's three strategic outcomes:

• A competitive and expanded business sector in Western Canada and a strengthened western Canadian innovation system;
• Economically viable communities in Western Canada with a high quality of life; and
• Policies and programs that support the development of Western Canada. Specific priorities in some regions include tourism revitalization, development and promotion of environmental technologies, and ground-breaking health technology research and development.

What are the federal Priorities?

The federal priorities in the renewed WEPAs are as outlined in the Government of Canada’s Advantage Canada: Building a Strong Economy for Canadians and the Science and Technology Strategy. They include:

• Support the creation and growth of research and development, with a focus on getting new products, technologies and services out to market;
• Support trade and investment;
• Enhance business productivity and competitiveness;
• Increase value-added production in traditional industries.

Eligibility Criteria and Submission Guidelines

British Columbia | Alberta | Saskatchewan | Manitoba

What's been accomplished?

The 1998-2002 WEPAs allocated a total of $160 million over five years towards federal-provincial economic priorities. An evaluation of those agreements showed that this funding had leveraged an additional $458 million from other levels of government and the private sector. In other words, every dollar contributed by WD leveraged another $2.86 from other sources. Additionally, an estimated 120 new businesses were started as a result of WEPA-funded projects. Nearly $500 million was invested in buildings, equipment and projects creating an estimated 1,300+ fulltime jobs.

The WEPAs that were in place from 2003 to 2008, were four-year, cost-shared $50M agreements with each of the western provinces. Although funding under those WEPAs was fully committed by March 31, 2008, the expenditures for the projects that were approved continue until September 2009. An evaluation of the 2003 – 08 WEPAs was completed as a component of the  Western Diversification Program  evaluation, and it concluded that for every dollar invested by WD for WEPA initiatives, another $1.65 was leveraged from other sources.

View examples of projects that have been supported by WEPA..

What’s ahead for WEPA projects?

Through the Western Economic Partnership Agreements, WD will continue to work with the western provincial governments to invest in shared priorities that support a stronger future for the West. For more information about these priorities, view the WEPA factsheet.

For more information about these priorities, view the WEPA News Releases and Backgrounders:

• Alberta - March 20, 2009
• British Columbia - January 19, 2009  
• Manitoba - January 22, 2009 
• Saskatchewan - January 23, 2009